WHAT'S NEW FROM COVERITLIVE

Release Notes for Version 3.5 - November 24, 2014

Stream

CoveritLive is proud to announce Stream, our completely redesigned viewer experience. Add personality and identity to your events using our bold new Keyframe Images. Stream is fully responsive for easy inclusion in desktop, tablet, and mobile experiences. Stream includes a contemporary new look for all content types. We’re excited to see the great experiences our users create using the all new Stream experience.

Keyword Filters

Easily exclude inappropriate, offensive, and unwanted content from your automated Twitter and Instagram sources using our new keyword filter. Just define a list of words you’d like to exclude, and all content containing them will be omitted from your event or SmartStream.

Facebook Enhancements

CoveritLive's Facebook integration has been improved and now includes the ability to search Facebook Pages and Comments when looking for content for your events.

Completed Event Management

It’s now possible to manage the Pins, Polls, Scoreboards and Newsflashes in your completed events.

Release Notes for Version 3.30 - June 23, 2014

Automated Instagram

While CoveritLive has long allowed users to search for Instagram content, many of our users have also asked for the ability to automate Instagram content (much like our ever popular Auto-Tweet feature). We are very happy to announce that Auto-Instagram is here! Want to quickly and easily publish trusted Instagram sources to your live event? Require additional moderation before publishing incoming Instagram posts? CoveritLive's Auto-Instagram feature makes it easy to do all of this and more. This is a great feature for pulling in related social images during large events like award shows or public sporting events, and works beautifully when used along with our LiveContentWall for highly visual displays. Learn More about Auto-Instagram

Social Automate

Our new Auto-Instagram feature and our existing Auto-Tweet feature can now be found under the new "Social Automate" tab in EventStudio. Do you have an automated social source that you would like to see added to CoveritLive? Let us know. We love to hear user feedback :)

Verified Tweets

Twitter is a great source for content and opinion, but it can also be hard to cut through the Twitter noise and verify trusted sources. At first glance, Twitter accounts can look legitimate (such as @OfficiaICNN) but are in fact not. To help users find trusted sources, CoveritLive now displays the verified Twitter account badge on all associated Tweets. Verification is currently used by Twitter to establish authenticity of identities of key individuals and brands and tends to identify trusted sources. If the Twitter account is verified then a Tweet published from that account will display the verified Tweet badge next to the user's name. In addition users can now filter Auto-Tweet results to only show Tweets published from Verified Twitter accounts. Use it along with a hashtag or keyword to quickly curate relevant tweets published by verified accounts. Learn More about Verified Tweets

LiveContentWalls + Pinning

We knew that LiveContentWalls would allow for a very visually engaging live experience, but didn't quite anticipate how popular they would be! We love to see all the different ways they are being used. To make them even better we have made Pinning available on Walls. Pinning is a great way to quickly feature important content - such as a favourite post or even an Ad! When a post is pinned to the Wall it will now persistently appear at the Top + Left; ensuring it is seen by all Readers. This is a great feature for highlighting a post or adding sponsorship. Showing Pinned items is optional and can be turned on/off from the EventDesigner as needed. Learn how to add Pins to a Wall

Add a Social Wall to Facebook

LiveContentWalls allow you to create a dynamic and highly visual social wall experience for any event. Now you can also choose to embed or syndicate your Wall on Facebook! Since LiveContentWalls are so visually engaging and work wonderfully for photo campaigns, they provide the perfect Facebook presence for publishers and brands. Learn how to add a Wall to Facebook

Scoreboard Favourite

If you are covering a local sports tournament there may be times that you want to publish several manual scoreboards, so your Readers are kept up to date on all of the latest games. But how about if you want to use multiple scoreboards, but still focus on a specific game? (For example, the home team). With our latest update you can now choose to assign one manual Scoreboard as the "favourite". If a favourite preference is set then that Scoreboard will display by default for current and new Readers. Readers can still opt to view the other Scoreboards of course (and the other scores will still display in the scrolling Ticker) but the favourite Scoreboard will display by default (no matter when it was published). To select a favourite, simply click the star icon above the appropriate Scoreboard (the star will turn yellow when active). Learn More

RSS Styling Updates

CoveritLive understands how important it is to be able to publish 3rd party content. That's why EventStudio includes a built-in RSS Reader. Simply enter the RSS Feed URL into the RSS Search tab and the stream below will populate with the RSS content. If your organization has it’s own RSS news feed this is an easy way to publish fresh content during your live event. Plus it’s a quick way to incorporate Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest and Flickr content. Up till now our RSS feeds looked a bit basic, so we improved the styling and to ensure RSS content, including images, look great!

Photo Gallery Updates

Readers love big bold images. With our Live Gallery feature your Readers can click on any published image (including those posted via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) to view the image at full size. In our latest release our Live Gallery received a mini makeover to ensure the photo captions look as great as the images.

Media SmartStream Editing

Images and Pre-Written text tagged from the Media Library can now be directly edited in the SmartStream. This enhancement will help to improve workflow when working with other contributors. For example if a Producer tagged an image to approve it for production, another Producer could edit the image caption directly from SmartStream before publishing it to the event.

API Updates

The CoveritLive API is routinely used by many of our biggest clients and powers live experiences around the world. In this release we have added API Instagram video support, so that published Instagram videos automatically appear inline.

Release Notes for Version 3.27 - April 10, 2014

Insert Mode

Our new Insert feature allows you to insert new content into your event stream, allowing a post to be added earlier in the timeline. This feature is useful if there is a media item or social post that you would like to insert at a specific point in your event. All inserted content appears in real-time. The insert feature is now available to all Writers and Producers. Learn More

Release Notes for Version 3.26 - March 26, 2014

API to SmartStream

In addition to using the CoveritLive API to auto-publish content directly to your event, you can also now use the API to insert 3rd party content directly into the SmartStream. This is a powerful feature that allows Producers to view and moderate 3rd party content before publishing it. To make workflow easy, items added to SmartStream through the API will be filterable in EventStudio with a new "Filter By" drop down. API inserted items can be tagged and published from the SmartStream the same as all other posts. Eager to try it out? Technical details available here

Release Notes for Version 3.25 - March 24, 2014

EventStudio Prep Mode

Ever wish you had access to EventStudio before your event begins? Well, now you can! CoveritLive's new Prep Mode allows you to open EventStudio and access all of the powerful features and settings without launching your event. We recommend using Prep Mode to customize and prepare your event in advance. For example you can use Prep Mode to set up your Twitter feeds, invite a Producer, search for and tag social content, upload media to the library, or build a Scoreboard. Prep Mode even allows users to pre-publish content; great for times when you want specific posts to display immediately on launch. Prep Mode is now available to all CoveritLive users for any Upcoming Event or Ticker; simply look for the yellow "Prep Mode" button to try it out. Learn More

Build Page & Event Listings

You may have noticed we updated the Event Listings and Build page. In addition to the new design, the build section has been updated to remove settings (such as Twitter feeds and Panelist/Producers invites) that are better managed directly from EventStudio using the new Prep Mode. Wondering about the changes to the event listing pages or how to add a Panelist? Check out our handy infographic.

Mobile EventStudio

Want to access your account and use EventStudio directly from your SmartPhone? Check out our new Mobile website from your Phone. You can view all your upcoming, live and completed events and build new events directly from our mobile optimized website. Plus our new Mobile EventStudio gives users access to an optimized version of our powerful management console. This version is built to be mobile-friendly while still including access to EventStudio's advanced features including Search, SmartStream, Media, Tools, Settings, and Scoreboards. Want to try it out? Simply visit Coveritlive.com on your SmartPhone and the mobile version will display by default (alternatively you can always click the "Mobile Version" link in the footer of any page). With full access to all the latest features, Mobile EventStudio is the best way to manage your live events when you don't have access to a computer.

Instagram User Search

You asked for it, and we built it! Our new Instagram User Search feature allows Writers and Producers to easily and quickly search for Instagram posts based on a username. Simply click the Instagram > 'Search Users' tab and enter an Instagram username (such as "natgeo"). This enhancement makes it much easier to find and publish images from a trusted Instagram account. In addition we have also added a Video Only filter for both Keyword and User Search.

Twitter - Geo-Location Update

We've made some changes to our Twitter Geo-Location feature to make it even easier to filter search results based on location. The map interface now includes a Google Maps search box with auto-complete. Simply start to type in the location and Google auto-complete will suggest a list of the closest matches. Select a match and the map will pinpoint that location. This enhancement ensures users can select a specific location extremely quickly. This is a powerful feature for curating location based Tweets during breaking news events.

Twitter Search - Auto-Follow

We've made it easier to automate a Twitter source right from the Search panel. Users can now click an "Auto-Follow" menu icon (by mousing over any Tweet in their search results) and the Auto-Tweet menu will open with that Twitter username already populated. From there simply set any additional filtering options and click "Add" to automate their Tweets. This workflow is especially helpful for Twitter curation during busy events. For example if you are performing a Twitter Search and notice a particular user has Tweeted important or insightful information related to your event, you can quickly automate their Tweets to the SmartStream; allowing you to easily monitor that account for new information.

EventDesigner: Replay Order

In the EventDesigner you can now specify a Replay order for your Completed Events. By default all completed event posts appear in "Chronological" order for easy recap reading — with the oldest posts appearing first (at top) and the newest last (at bottom). If "Reverse" is selected then Completed event posts will appear in reverse chronological order — with the newest posts appearing first (at top) and the oldest last (at bottom).

LiveContentWall: Transparent Option

Did you know you can further customize your LiveContentWall by overriding the default CSS? This allows you to easily update the text colour and font. In our latest release we have also added a background transparency option. When turned ON it replaces the default grey Wall background with transparency so you can easily place the LiveContentWall on a custom background of your choice. The new "Transparent" option can be turned on or off directly from the EventDesigner.

Audio Auto-Play

By default published audio files don't play until a Reader manually clicks the play button. However there are times when you might want an audio file to automatically play; such as a referee whistle or a goal sound during a game. Therefore we have added an optional "Audio Auto-Play" setting to the EventStudio Tools menu.

Legacy Embed Code: New Options

We know some users still prefer to use the Legacy Embed code instead of the New Embed code. To help ensure those events also look great we've added some new Legacy Code EventDesigner options. Legacy Code now includes settings for 100% Width, Layout Style, and Replay Order.

Release Notes for Version 3.20 - January 14, 2014

Facebook Search

We've added Facebook Search to EventStudio! You can now quickly search Facebook for relevant and real-time Facebook posts and comments, and easily publish them to your Live Event. All published Facebook posts include the proper attribution and a link back to the original source. To get started simply select the Search tab in EventStudio and click on the Facebook icon. This new feature makes it easy to add Facebook posts to any social stream or LiveContentWall. Learn More about Facebook Search

Twitter Geo-Location

Twitter is a vital news source during major events, but it's often challenging to cut through the noise to source unique and relevant content. While hashtags and keywords are helpful to congregate related Tweets, a Geo-location filter is extremely valuable for curating key information from those in the immediate area. Tweets and photos from exact locations can give a much more accurate view and provide a whole new level of insight during a protest, severe weather event or breaking news. EventStudio now includes a Twitter Geo-Location feature to easily filter search results based on location. Using a Google map interface CoveritLive users can select a location anywhere in the world and apply a search radius. This is a powerful feature to allow journalists and brands to publish relevant location based results.
Learn More about Geo-Location

LiveContentWall Enhancements

We added new content types so you can now publish You Tube and Facebook posts on your LiveContentWall. In addition we made some updates to ensure all Wall Posts and Images automatically resize to take up the full width available; ensuring your wall content looks great at any size! 10 Ways to use LiveContentWalls

EventDesigner: Layout Style

In the EventDesigner you can now specify a Layout Style of either 'Top' or 'Bottom' for your Stream. This option controls the display of the Reader Comment Box (where your Readers submit comments during a live event) and the Notification Center within the Viewer Window. For example, if you select 'Top' then the Reader Comment Box and Notification Center will appear at the top of the Stream (Viewer Window). For consistency the New Entries at Top option has been replaced with a New Entries setting which also includes the display choices of either 'Top' or 'Bottom'. (For the best user experience we recommend setting the Layout Style and New Entries to the same position - so both appear either at Top or Bottom - but you can still choose to set these independently).

Automatic Responsiveness

Many users love the responsive design options available in the EventDesigner, but have asked about additional support. In our latest release we updated the Viewer Window to automatically support responsive design for the 100% width option when the browser size changes. If you are using the 100% width option and a Reader changes the browser size then the Viewer Window will now automatically resize accordingly.

New Twitter Display Filters

We added new sort options for Twitter Search results. You can now filter your Twitter search results by: 'All Results, 'Top Results' or 'Recent Results'. This allows you greater control for performing targeted keyword searches.

Auto-Tweet Update (non-Roman Languages)

CoveritLive's Auto-Tweet feature makes it easy to quickly and easily publish trusted Twitter sources to your live event. To ensure our international users can also fully benefit for this feature we added Auto-Tweet Twitter hashtag support for non-Roman characters. This ensures that users can add Auto-Tweet keywords and hashtags in languages such as Russian, Greek, and Korean.

Pinning Enhancement

Pinning is a great way to quickly feature important content during your live event. We improved the Pinning work flow so that you can now directly publish any Pinned item from the Pinning menu. Have a pinned item that you no longer want to appear on the Pinboard, but you still want to include in your event stream? You can now simply 'Unpin' the item and then 'Publish (+)' that item all from the Pinning management menu.

ReDesigned Title Pages

The Viewer Window includes an optional Title Page. When turned 'On' the Title Page displays your event title, event status, and main image. In our latest release we redesigned the Title Page to provide a cleaner and fresher look. Everyone using a native Title Page will automatically be updated to the latest design. By default all Title Pages are turned off so this will only affect users who have Title Pages turned on. Those users with white-label or Custom Skins will not see any changes.

CiL Classic has been Officially Retired

As of January 14th 2014 CiL Classic will be officially retired. This means it will no longer be widely available or officially supported, and will not receive any new updates or features. If you're already using EventStudio then there's no action you need to take. If you have previously been using CiL Classic and are new to EventStudio then as an introduction we highly recommend reading our EventStudio Support Guide. If you want to continue using CoveritLive but do not have a supported browser then we highly recommend that you upgrade your browser and switch to EventStudio (not only will that allow you to use EventStudio but it also means a better, more secure experience on the web!). We promise that EventStudio offers a streamlined work flow and tons of great new options for creating dynamic live events! If you or your colleagues have any specific EventStudio work flow questions please let us know by contacting support. Learn More about making the switch to EventStudio.

Release Notes for Version 3.17 - November 26, 2013

LiveContentWall

CoveritLive is proud to announce our newest real-time product — LiveContentWall.LiveContentWall makes it easy to create a dynamic and highly visual social wall experience for any live event. Curate social content from Twitter and Instagram, and publish along with your own original comments and images; all posts are displayed instantly in a tiled wall format. As with all CoveritLive events, all of your real-time content is curated, moderated and published using EventStudio. Use LiveContentWall to consolidate your social media channels, as well as add additional real-time updates to keep viewers informed. It's a great way to showcase your social media feeds, create a Tweet Wall, visualize a hashtag campaign, or create a social Photo wall. There's tons of great ways to use LiveContentWall. Best of all, LiveContentWall is available to all CoveritLive users right now! Learn More

Introducing EventDesigner

The new CoveritLive EventDesigner, allows you to easily customize all of your live event experiences. With only a few clicks you can use the EventDesigner (available when you build your event) to generate the experience that best fits your needs. EventDesigner includes multiple display options, including the ability to customize dimensions, appearance and content types. When you change any of the options, the generated event embed code is automatically updated. You can generate as many different versions of the embed code as required; allowing you to easily syndicate your event, or to display multiple views of the same event! For example, by using the new View setting you can display your event as a real-time Stream (published content appears in a linear view) and as a LiveContentWall (published content appears in tiled social wall format). With EventDesigner it's incredibly easy for anyone to build an engaging live experience. Learn More

Release Notes for Version 3.15 - October 23, 2013

Replies - A Great New Tool for Q&A

Q&A sessions and live chats are one of CoveritLive's most popular types of events. Our latest "Reply" feature improves the live chat work flow by allowing Writers to publish a direct response to any published or unpublished post, including comments, images and Tweets. This makes it a great feature for hosted Q&A sessions since it allows Writers to directly answer submitted questions, and then publish both the question and answer together into the event. Multiple Panelists (with SmartStream access) can also create panel discussions by replying to the same item at one time. To make collaboration easy, the built in notification feature let's everyone knows when a fellow contributor is replying. Learn More

Save to SmartStream

Ever have a comment you wanted to write in advance and then queue up for publishing later? Are there times when your Producer wants to control all publishing? Using the new "Save to SmartStream" comment box, you can now post a comment directly into the SmartStream where it can be seen by other contributors, and then published later as needed during the event. This is a great feature for submitting comments to your Producer for approval, or for posing a question to a Panelist with SmartStream access. Learn More

Panelist Console Access

Panelists are contributors with access to a simplified version of EventStudio. Now when you invite a Panelist to join your event you can set a specific access level to determine what tools they can use in EventStudio. Learn More

Basic: By default all Panelists have "Basic" access. Basic Panelists can view the Live Event viewer, and publish their own comments to the event. Panelists also have access to basic settings, including the ability to customize their Display Name and Avatar. In addition, Panelists can Private Message other event contributors.

SmartStream: Panelists with "SmartStream" access can do everything that "Basic" Panelists can do, plus they also have access to the SmartStream. From the SmartStream they can Publish, Reply to, and Tag any item in the SmartStream, including unpublished Reader Comments. They also have access to the new "Save to SmartStream" feature, which allows them to post comments directly to the SmartStream for publishing later (which is a great feature if you want Panelists to submit comments to the Producer for approval).

New Photo Slideshow

Back in April we made changes to give your Readers bigger and better images that automatically adapt and resize based on the width of the Viewer Window. Now Readers can also click any image and view a full screen Slideshow display; allowing them to easily navigate through all of your event images (including images from Twitter and Instagram). This new SlideShow feature comes standard with all events when you use the new enhanced embed code.
Check out the Slideshow in action!

Avatar Upload Tool

Have an image that you want to use for an Avatar, but don't have an editing program to size it correctly? Our new Avatar upload tool includes new options that allow you to easily resize, drag and position your image to ensure that your Avatar looks great in every event. Try it out by turning on "Avatars" and then uploading a new Avatar from your "Settings" tab in EventStudio.

Viewer Window Enhancements

The icons on the Viewer Window allow your Readers to control settings in the event. Settings include turning sound on/off, using the translation tools, and sharing your event on Twitter. In our latest release we updated these icons to provide a cleaner display across all events.

Invoice Notification for Subscription Users

For all self-service accounts, the Enterprise Administrator can always access their monthly account invoices by logging into their CoveritLive account and going to: My Account > Invoices. From this Invoices page Administrators can review all Invoice details and update billing information. Some users have asked about an easier way to save their invoices, so now we've added an option to view and download each invoice as a PDF. In addition we will also now be sending out invoice notifications each month by email. Remember to keep your email on file up to date in order to receive these notifications (you can update it from your My Profile page). We hope these updates will help make account management easier for our Subscription users.

Still using CiL Classic? You're missing out!

If you're still using CiL Classic to manage your events then you're missing out on all of our latest features. In order to encourage users to switch to EventStudio, all users still using CiL Classic will now be prompted to make a console selection every time they launch an event. Need some more motivation to switch? CiL Classic will be officially retired on Jan. 14. 2014. Want to try the new console but not sure how to use EventStudio? Check out our EventStudio Support page to learn how. As always - if you have questions, concerns or feedback please contact us and share your thoughts!

Release Notes for Version 3.10 - August 28th, 2013

Pinning - Featured Content

Looking for a way to highlight key information in a format that is
seen by all your Readers? Our new Pinning feature (available for to all users using the new embed code) makes it easy to
quickly feature important content during your live event. Use Pinning
to quickly post an introduction or a key news update. Add an important
video or image to help frame your story. Using EventStudio you can
pin any published or unpublished post; including comments, images,
videos, Tweets or any media source. The layout and appearance of Pinned items can be customized by changing the Pinboard Appearance setting; allowing you to have your pins appear either in an external 'Pinboard' or directly within the Viewer Window. Learn More about Pinning

New Embed Code

CoveritLive has launched a new enhanced Embed Code! The next time you build an event you will notice the new embed code (along with new embed settings) available from the "Installing the Viewer Window" section.

The advantage of this new script-based embed code (over the legacy embed code) is that it can be easily customized to change the dimensions and the appearance of the Viewer Window. Appearance settings include Title Page, Pinboard, New Entries at Top and Skins. Dimension settings allow you to set a specific height and width or select a responsive design option for 100% width or infinite height.

When you change the settings provided, the embed code script is automatically updated. You can generate different versions of the embed code as required for your specific usage; allowing syndicated events to utilize different display options. When you are happy with your embed code settings, simply copy and paste the final embed code onto your site where you want your event to appear. Learn More about the New Embed Code

Responsive Design Options

Responsive design has become an important feature for our users. We're happy to announce that the new embed code allows users to easily set responsive dimension settings. When enabled the Viewer Window will automatically resize; ensuring your event looks great from all web, mobile and tablet browsers.

100% Width: If you would like the width of your Viewer Window to automatically expand to take up 100% of the space available to it then we recommend turning 'ON' the 100% Width setting in the new embed code designer. Enabling this option provides an updated version of the embed code that includes a parameter instructing the Viewer Window to automatically expand according to the container. This means that the Viewer Window would be able to automatically resize to appear wider on your website, and then resize as needed for your optimized mobile or tablet solution.

Infinite Height: If you would like your Viewer Window to automatically increase in height (as new content is added) then we recommend using the Infinite Height option. If enabled, the Viewer Window will continue to take up additional height as new posts are added (enabling infinite scroll).

Instagram Video Support

EventStudio's search & discover feature allows users to easily search for and publish Instagram photos. Now in our latest release we've added support for Instagram videos too! By default now all Instagram searches will return both images and videos relating to the search term. You can preview Instagram videos right in your console before publishing. If you would rather not display videos simply uncheck the "Include Videos" link.

Single Sign On

CoveritLive now supports seamless Single Sign On (SSO). Users logged into your site can automatically be logged into any CoveritLive event, without having to login multiple times. This feature is currently only available for Custom Accounts. Please contact your Account Manager for more information.

Media Library Enhancements

The Media Library is your own personal online storage area for media items such as Images, Video and Polls. To make it easier to manage your content you can now delete any Media Library item directly from the EventStudio onboard Media Library. Simply mouse over the item and click the delete icon. This allows you to easily clean up your library and remove any unnecessary clutter. If you tend to prepare for your event by adding pre-written text before the event, you will be happy to know that you can now edit all Pre-Written Text right from EventStudio. Simply select the text item from your "Pre-Written Text" folder in your onboard Media Library and click the 'Edit' icon. Type in your edits and then click Save. Whenever you are ready to publish simply publish your text as needed. Adding Pre-Written Text is an excellent way to prepare questions or comments for high volume events.

Release Notes for Version 3.09 - July 10, 2013

SmartStream Display Option

The EventStudio SmartStream lets you review and organize all of your content from across multiple sources; before publishing. In our latest release we added a Display option to the SmartStream which allows users to reverse the default display order. By default all SmartStream items appear with the newest items at top; so that you always see the most recent real-time content first. For most users this is the preferred display for managing a live event. However for specific use cases (such as those Producers publishing the majority of reader comments during an extremely high volume event) it can be useful to view the oldest comments at top (doing so means the stream of items does not move when a new comment arrives; which is how CiL Classic appears). If you are interested in using this new option simply select "Oldest at Top" from the new Display menu which appears at the top of the SmartStream. A few things to note before you try it out:

Having items display "Newest at Top" is still the order we highly recommend for most events. Keep in mind that by switching the order you won't immediately view the most recent comments, auto-tweets or tagged items. If you are managing a high volume of comments we first recommend trying the Pause / Play feature to manage incoming content. When the stream is paused no new content will enter the stream, however a notification will appear at the top indicating the number of new items in the queue. i.e. "8 New Items". Click play to resume the stream and any new items will automatically be added to your SmartStream. The SmartStream filters also allow you to view only specific content types for easier management.

If you are using Tagging to collaborate with other users then we don't recommend reversing the display order. This is because newly tagged items will appear at the bottom of the stream where they can be easily missed.

Switching the display order will only impact your own SmartStream display in EventStudio. Any fellow Producers using their own EventStudio will not be impacted.

Release Notes for Version 3.08 - June 17, 2013

Improved Media Captions

EventStudio makes it easy to upload Images on-the-fly for instant real-time publishing. Many users like to include captions with their images so we've improved the work flow to make this even easier. Now when you upload an image a Media Caption box will appear, allowing you to quickly add caption text. We've also added a built-in Rich-Text Editor so you can customize your caption text size, color, style and easily add HTML or direct links to external sites. This is a great option for journalists posting an image to draw Readers to a related editorial article, or for brands who want to link directly to a purchase page. (Tip! If you want the image itself to be clickable with no caption, then we recommend adding your image as an inline Ad)

You Tube Playback Options

We've had some users tell us they want You Tube videos to auto-play when published, and others who want Readers to control playback. As a result we've added a new setting to allow Writers and Producers complete control over this setting. By default You Tube videos will not Auto-Play (Readers can click to play, just like when they watch a You Tube video elsewhere on the web). However for those users that want their video to instantly play, they can easily turn Auto-Play "ON" from the EventStudio "Settings" tab. The setting can also be switched on and off throughout the event as needs change. Using the Auto-Play option is a great way to easily feature inline Video Ads, or to ensure all Readers are watching a video at the same time. Learn more about adding Video

Media Library - File Management

In the EventStudio onboard Media Library it's easy to browse your collection of uploaded images or videos for publishing during your event. To make management even easier we now also display the title for all Images and Videos (if no title is added then the filename will appear). This is helpful if you are collaborating with others and need to refer to a name. Learn more about the Media Library

Private Messaging Badges

EventStudio has built in private messaging for collaborating with other Panelists and Producers during your event. However we know that sometimes you may be busy doing other things when a message arrives, so now we've added message badges. That way you can easily see how many new messages are waiting to be read.

Twitter Language Settings

In our April release we've added the ability to specify a language filter for Auto-Tweets and now we've also added a Language Setting for Twitter Search keywords. You can select to "Include All' or filter by 14 specific languages. This is helpful to narrow down results when searching for a popular keyword. (Please note that the language selection is currently based on the profile associated with the poster's Twitter account. As Twitter improves their language search capabilities we will too!)

Login with your Email Address

You can now use your email address to login to your account. Simply enter the email address associated with your CoveritLive account, along with your password to login. Of course if you'd rather, you can still use your username just as you always have. Not sure what email you have associated with your account? You can always view or update your profile information from the My Profile page.

New Options for Subscription Plans

We've added additional options for our monthly Subscription Plans to make it even easier for users to customize their plans to their changing needs. We've also added Account Notifications so Enterprise Administrators always know what upcoming changes are pending. Here's an overview of the changes:

When Upgrading your plan you can select for the upgrade to begin either "Immediately" or "Next Month". Setting the plan to begin next month is helpful if you know your organization is covering a major event and you don't want to forget to upgrade your plan in advance.

When you select to Upgrade your plan from CiL Trial to a paid Pricing plan, you are now able to specify if you want "full" or "pro-rated" clicks for the 1st month. If you select "full" then you will have access to the full number of clicks available in your plan, and will pay the full monthly price. If you select "Pro-Rated" then for the first month the number of clicks and the price of the plan will be pro-rated based on the number of days left in the month. (Note: You must select "immediately" as your start date to access the pro-rated option).

Since you pay for your Subscription month in advance, downgrading only affects the next month's billing and pricing plan. However now when Downgrading you can select for the downgrade to begin either the next month, or any of the following 11 months. This is helpful if your event coverage is seasonal and you don't want to forget to downgrade to a lower plan (or to CiL Trial) at the end of the season.

If you have set Upcoming Changes for your plan (such as an upcoming downgrade for the following month) you can now easily cancel it yourself, without contacting Customer Service. This is helpful if your CoveritLive usage plans change. To cancel a plan simply click "Cancel Changes" from your upcoming plan notification. (Notifications for upcoming changes will appear on the My Account and Invoices page for Enterprise Account Administrators).

Release Notes for Version 3.07 - May 7, 2013

PGA Live Golf

PGA Tour Golf is now available on the Live Scoreboard, allowing you to easily display live data for all the PGA Golf tournaments. Live Scores automatically displays the latest scores and data from your tournament or championship of choice, making it easier than ever to offer up-to-the-minute coverage. Your Readers can even select favorite players to watch. To add Live Golf to your next event, launch EventStudio and select the Scoreboard tab. Select "Live Scores" and choose "PGAGOLF - PGA Tour Golf" from the league drop-down. A date drop-down will appear allowing you to select the tournament name and date. Publish the Scoreboard and it instantly goes live, allowing your Readers to stay automatically updated on all the plays! Learn More

Release Notes for Version 3.05 - April 18, 2013

Post & Tweet

Need to speak to your event Readers and your Twitter audience at the same time? Our new Post & Tweet feature let's you simultaneously publish content to your event and to your Twitter feed, all without ever leaving EventStudio. It's easy to turn on/off on-the-fly, letting you quickly pick and choose which event posts to share with your Twitter followers. Learn More

Twitter UI Enhancements

We know that Twitter plays an important part of your live events and that's why we updated the Twitter interface to make it even easier to incorporate fresh and relevant Tweets. Use Auto-Tweet to automatically publish trusted Tweets right to your event, or choose to moderate your Tweets when you require pre-approval. Our range of filters allow you to easily control the content and cut through the Twitter noise; including the ability to filter based on keywords, hashtags, top-tweets, @replies, retweets, links, images, and languages. And as always, our robust Twitter Search feature let's you quickly discover and publish relevant and real-time Twitter content and commentary. Learn More

More Social Sharing

As a new Social Sharing option, your Readers now have the opportunity to easily share individual event posts right to Twitter. This helps to drive Twitter traffic back to your live events and is great for promoting your live event and your brand. To make use of this feature make sure your turn on "Social Sharing" when creating your next event.

Bigger, Bolder Images

We've made some changes to give your Readers bigger and better images! Now regardless of the device your Readers are using, published images will automatically adapt and resize based on the width of the Viewer Window. This means your Readers always see big beautiful images. Learn more about Images

Vine Support

Want to feature Vine Videos in your event? Simply publish the Vine URL from the comment box and the video will appear embedded in your Viewer Window. Learn More

Channel Page Improvements

Channel Pages deliver SEO-Optimized and customizable solutions for your CoveritLive Events, and now we've made them even better. Our updated Channel Pages now include infinite scrolling, reader comments at the top, and an overall cleaner and more customizable interface. Learn more about ChannelPages

Stats Dashboard Update

We updated the individual Stat dashboard to include Average Reader Duration and Total Readers > 1min. This allows you to more quickly analyze the stats from individual events. As always, you can access the dashboard by clicking the stat icon associated with the event from the Stats & Analytics page.
Learn more about Stats

Release Notes for Version 3.02 - March 5, 2013

Twitter Updates

CoveritLive uses Twitter's real-time streaming API in order to provide fast, reliable Twitter integration. As of March 5th 2013, Twitter requires authorization for all API requests and as a result, CoveritLive users must now be logged into a Twitter account before using any Twitter-related features. Linking your Twitter account with CoveritLive also logs you onto Twitter, which allows you to use Twitter functionality seamlessly within your live events. You can "link" or "unlink" your Twitter account at anytime from your "My Profile" page. Once linked, you will be able to use CoveritLive's Twitter search and Auto-Tweet just as you always have. Learn More

SmartStream Enhancement

We recently launched some improvements to SmartStream in EventStudio. In addition to pausing the SmartStream, you can now separately select to view any additional "New Items" that have accumulated without unpausing the stream. Previously the pause/play and new items were one in the same. Here's how it now works: As new items come into the paused SmartStream, the number in the 'New Items" notification bar will increment to notify you of new content. Clicking on the bar will immediately display any queued items that have accumulated, while keeping the SmartStream paused. Clicking "Play" again will display any queued items, and also unpause the SmartStream. These changes should make it easier to manage a large volume of incoming comments. Learn more about SmartStream

Czech is now Available

Our friends in the Czech Republic can celebrate! CoveritLive has just added Czech as a language display option. CoveritLive now offers a total of 16 display languages. Learn more about CiL Language Options

Release Notes for Version 3.0 - February 5, 2013

The new CoveritLive Console features a fully redesigned event management experience and tons of new features. We've streamlined the interface and simplified the work flow, which makes it a breeze to source content, add context and manage your live events. Drag and drop items right from your computer or directly from a search source for instant publishing. View live data trends with improved access to real-time event statistics right from the console. Here are some more of the amazing new features available in EventStudio:

SmartStream, our new moderation queue, lets you review and organize all of your content from across multiple sources to quickly collaborate, filter, sort and publish with ease. SmartStream also makes it easier to manage a high volume of Reader Comments (check out the new pause/play feature!) and let's you quickly tag and search all of your curated content. You can filter based on comment type (e.g. comments with images, email comments, etc.) or search for a specific reference. For example - if you're running an event covering the Packers game and want to find reader comments and Tweets that mention quarterback Aaron Rodgers, simply enter his name as a search term. This makes it easy to source relevant content and keep your Readers engaged.

We know live social commentary is becoming increasingly important and that's why we've added a new Search feature to quickly discover and curate content from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and more. We've also enhanced our Twitter tools with new filters and moderation options which make it easy to source the top Tweets and the most relevant social commentary for all of your live events.

Sports users have a lot to celebrate with our latest release. We've completely redesigned the Scoreboards so they not only look great but they also make it easier than ever to offer up-to-the-minute coverage. Try our new Live Scores feature, which auto-populates the Scoreboard with updates throughout the game. Scores and major plays are visually highlighted so fans are kept up-to-date on the game action, while allowing you to focus on the commentary.

If like many users, you work with other colleagues to manage your live event, our latest release has made it even easier to coordinate and communicate. Producers have full access to EventStudio including the new SmartStream and the enhanced onboard Media Library. We've introduced tagging and filtering which allow you to manage large amounts of content while quickly collaborating with others. We've added notification so you always know when a new Panelist or Producer has joined the event. CoveritLive has long since featured an internal chat option, but for this release we streamlined the interface; allowing you to quickly private message other contributors who may be running the event from afar.

Lastly, while the old Console has always worked on the iPad, the new Console works beautifully with a touch screen and offers a superior iPad experience. (Or if you prefer to use your smartphone, download our free CiL iPhone App or Android App)

We believe EventStudio’s new interface and enhanced functionality make it easier than ever to source compelling content and create dynamic live events. We hope you think so too and look forward to your feedback!

P.S. The old Writer's console (now called "CiL Classic Console") will remain available so you can continue running events as you do today, giving you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with EventStudio before making the switch. You can even easily switch between consoles during an event.

Viewer Window Enhancements

Our latest release includes several updates to the Viewer Window. The first one you will likely notice is the change to the Reader comment area. To make more room for your event commentary, we've made the Reader comment box collapsible. By default your Readers will now see a sleeker comment field (which reads, "Send questions or comments"). When a Reader clicks in the text field to comment, the comment box automatically opens up giving them additional room to write and submit their comments.

The Notification Center (home to your Polls, Scoreboards, Newsflash, etc.) also received a redesign to go along with our new Scoreboards. A scroll area now appears above the main notification item to display alternate items for each section. If you have multiple notification items activated, then Readers can easily click any of the associated icons to switch between views. As always, when you update or publish a new item, then that item will immediately display for all Readers. This allows you to publish crucial information front-and-center for your Readers, without interrupting your event commentary.

Lastly, we have improved the experience for non Title Page events by removing the "Click for Live Updates" button. When the Title Page is turned off, all event posts and new updates will automatically display without requiring Readers' to interact with the Viewer Window.

Release Notes for Version 2.57 - October 12, 2012

Mobile Enhancements

We've standardized our mobile Viewer Window to include the same features as the desktop Viewer Window. This means that by default, your mobile Readers will now get the exact same experience as your desktop Readers! We know that your viewers will love the familiarity and features of the desktop version on their mobile devices. If preferred - the mobile version is still accessible via our new smartphone icon in the lower toolbar of the Viewer Window. The mobile Viewer Window also got some enhancements of its own - the viewer window now expands to use full screen on large screen Android devices and tablets. iOS users can now submit large attachments from the desktop and mobile Viewer Windows.

Release Notes for Version 2.56 - August 23, 2012

Super User (Enterprise Accounts)

As an Enterprise Account Administrator you can now access all your member's accounts and events. Learn more in CoveritLive's Support Center.

Custom Ad Code Support in Templates

Easily setup ad campaigns to run across multiple events, or your entire organization, by configuring them up once in a Custom Template.

Release Notes for Version 2.55 - August 9, 2012

ChannelPages

ChannelPages are a SEO optimized and customizable home for CoveritLive events. They're simple to get started, designed to be indexed by major search engines and include all of CoveritLive's great features.

Release Notes for Version 2.51 - July 16, 2012

Twitter

We've enhanced the look of all new Tweets that get published in your events. All published Tweets will now have an updated look that includes the users real avatar and Twitter name. There is also more functionality - users now have the ability to reply, favorite and retweet. In addition to our support for yFrog and TwitPic, we've added support for Twitter's native picture sharing service.

We've also made some improvements to our Twitter list processing. Events following lists will now update much more frequently than ever before.

As a reminder, all Twitter capabilities are included in CoveritLive at no additional charge.

*In order to comply with updated Twitter guidelines, we've had to remove Facebook sharing for tweets.

Release Notes for Version 2.5 - May 30, 2012

Our New Look!

If you are reading this page, you no doubt have already noticed that CoveritLive has a fresh new look, but the looks are not superficial, as many new features have been added to help meet our customer’s needs.

Pricing

Previously, we've negotiated individual pricing on a customer-by-customer basis. We now have four plans that will suit the majority of our users. Simply pick a plan that matches your usage and signup online. There is no long term commitment and you can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time. If none of the plans meet your needs, we still offer custom pricing. Click here to get all the details on the new plans.

CoveritLive has also simplified its product selection. CoveritLive no longer has CiL Basic, CiL Premium, feature restrictions, etc. All users that do not have a paid subscription are now part of the full-featured CiL Trial plan. This plan allows users to try out CoveritLive and get 25 free clicks per-month, without payment, for as long as they desire. Additionally, all advertising within the event window has been removed, so event viewers can continue to receive updates without having to wait.

New Dashboard

During your next account login you will notice that the My Account Dashboard has received a complete overhaul. We have constructed four distinct areas of the most relevant information for an account.

Account Details: The dashboard provides a summary glimpse of your account, what plan you have selected, how to upgrade, number of members, how to manage and your real-time monthly usage.

Current Usage Graphs: How are your monthly clicks doing? Select all members of your account or review individual members to see who is contributing to your total and how. Review previous months to see how your business is growing. This data is real-time, as readers attend your events the data will be updated live.

Real-time Notifications: Critical information that is required while working with CoveritLive is brought to your immediate attention. Issues with Twitter? CiL will let you know right away. Account notifications requiring attention? This information will appear and once the issue is resolved, the notifications will be removed.

CoveritLive Messages: CoveritLive always has things to say and messages to deliver that allow users to get the most out of the software. Instead of sending streams of emails, the information will be posted in the dashboard where it can be read and investigated at the user’s leisure.

Stats

We've always provided stats on readers, replays, durations, etc., but now the bar has been raised. CoveritLive now provides data trends during live events. See how the number of clicks changed during an event. View how many concurrent readers were watching throughout the event. See what percentage of readers stayed for what length of time during an event.

You might be thinking, "The new stats are great, but wish I had some of this data for my older events". Fortunately, CoveritLive has not thrown anything away. A large amount of data was extracted from the old logs and files in order to allow users to compare data from older events to more recent events. There is some new data that we are currently gathering that was not collected in the past, so some categories will only have new data. CoveritLive will let users know if we do not have their data from older events, but users will be pleasantly surprised as to how much data has been kept from past events.

The graphs look great, but would it be possible to acquire raw data and do my own analysis? This is not an issue and we provide you with two options for raw data analysis.

The CSV export from the stats page allows users to export all high level data in a format that can be used in most spreadsheet packages.

Acquire all of the minor details by using the API to make your own requests and get all of the specifics for any event you choose. Click here to read the details.

Are we missing some data that you think would help you manage or justify running your events?Contact us and let us know.

Facebook Integration

Facebook is the perfect place to host your CoveritLive events - and now we've made it easier than ever before. You can now add your CoveritLive events and CoverPages to Facebook with one simple click. To find out more about how to use CoveritLive with Facebook, click here.

New Blog

CoveritLive has launched a new blog with insights and illustrations of best use cases to better communicate with our customers. Click here to read the latest blog entries.

Other Tidbits

Here are some of the other enhancements available in this release.

Account Administrators can now manage members through a Super User Login that allows administrators to log in as any of the account's members.

Several new API calls have been added to allow users to extract and post comments.

Users now have access to better search capabilities in the Live Listings, so readers can more easily find events when visiting CoveritLive.com.

CoveritLive is the leading live-event publishing platform. Since its release in 2007, CoveritLive has been used by thousands of writers to engage millions of readers around the world. It is actively used both by traditional bloggers, journalists, major brands and mainstream media.